'Leave No Trace' director Debra Granik is recipient of Boston film award

Thursday

Apr 25, 2019 at 4:42 PM

Cambridge native and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Debra Granik is the recipient of the first Career Spotlight Award Boston, presented by the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Brattle Theatre.

Granik is the writer-director of the father-daughter survivalist drama “Leave No Trace,” which was named best narrative feature at 2018’s Independent Film Festival of Boston. A repertory series of Granik’s work will be held from May 31 to June 2 at the Brattle Theatre, 400 Brattle St., Cambridge.

Her other films include 2004’s “Down to the Bone,” which put Vera Farmiga on the map. Granik earned an adapted screenplay Oscar nomination and directed Jennifer Lawrence to her first best actress nomination for 2010’s “Winter’s Bone,” about an Ozark-mountain teenager searching for her missing meth-cooking daddy. Granik also directed the 2014 documentary “Stray Dog.”

“I am excited to hunker down at the Brattle for a feast of Americana, mixed with a few movies from afar," Granik said.

Granik has also teamed up with Ned Hinkle, the theater’s creative director, to show additional films that have influenced her work. Titles include Robert Altman's "Nashville," Monte Hellman's "Cockfighter" and Aki Kaurismäki's "The Other Side of Hope."

“These are a few of the films that, for me, can point a way forward in those times when hope can seem hard to find," Granik said.

Granik will attend question-and-answer sessions throughout the weekend. The award ceremony will be held after the 7 p.m. June 2 screening of “Leave No Trace.”

“Recognizing a filmmaker's body of work while in progress is something that doesn't happen enough," said Tom Meek, president of the Boston Society of Film Critics.

The Boston Society of Film Critics consists of 20 local critics, including writers from The Patriot Ledger, the MetroWest Daily News, the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe. The critics group plans to present the Spotlight Award annually.